Daz Harrison Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 how far in front of the bird do you pull the trigger ? i keep missing and its starting to P**** me off with all the wasted shots, im new to shooting and willing to learn. Daz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 That is a almost impossible question to answer, depends on speed and angle and distance of the bird Also everyone sees lead differently , instead of wasting shots go a have a lesson or two . The wasted shots could also be down to shooting at birds that are too far away , how many shots per bird are you averaging ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerboy Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 (edited) I'm with fenboy, good sensible advice. Edited April 10, 2015 by bakerboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Harrison Posted April 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 That is a almost impossible question to answer, depends on speed and angle and distance of the bird Also everyone sees lead differently , instead of wasting shots go a have a lesson or two . The wasted shots could also be down to shooting at birds that are too far away , how many shots per bird are you averaging ? 1 in 10 im not doing well at all mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parapilot Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 We all rusty when starting, or at the start of the season, but 1 in 10 id suggest maybe your gun does not fit right, mount is wrong. A lesson or 2 as above won't harm, get your gun mount right and go from there. I find pigeon shooting totally different to clay shooting and don't find one helps the other in my case. Infact if iv been on the clays my game shooting gets worse!!! But everyone's different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebarrels Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 That is a almost impossible question to answer, depends on speed and angle and distance of the bird Also everyone sees lead differently , instead of wasting shots go a have a lesson or two . The wasted shots could also be down to shooting at birds that are too far away , how many shots per bird are you averaging ? As above And don't think too much,while your thinking the bird is still moving,often away from you BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmydean Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 If you don't want a lesson (which I would suggest) then you must follow the line of flight of the bird from behind it and swing the gun through the line and lead the bird before pulling the trigger whilst continuing to swing. The lead you give a bird varies, as said, and cant be advised, so you must try different leads on a clay sporting layout and it will eventually click. Then you have to think about eye dominance and whether your mounting puts you on line for a shot. Better to have a lesson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 No, 1 in 10 is not good however you look at it , like i said it would be a good idea to have a lesson or two , it could be a gun fit issue rather than the lead your giving . The only other thing I could suggest would be to see if you can get someone who knows what they are doing to go out with you and take a look to see if you are making any basic errors such as shooting at birds that are out of range like I earlier suggested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalconFN Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 I was in the same situation and for me eye dominance was the biggest problem followed by shooting at birds that were too far away. I switched to my left shoulder and stopped shooting at faster or distant birds and only shot the ones that were 100% committed to landing. From that starting point I found I immediately improved my shooting and could work out lead little by little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerboy Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 From your hide step out 40 paces, do this in 3 directions, directly in front of the hide, 45's left and the same to the right. Place a decoy at the end of each 40 paces, this will give you a rough idea of distance, 40 yards being the ideal maximum distance for an effective strike. I know some will say you can hit them further out and some may say 40 yards is too far, but it will give you an indication of distance and your ability to shoot that distance. As Fenboy (who knows his stuff) and others have said get a lesson or two under your belt. A BASC or APSI coach (there are other Coaches) will look at Gun fit and eye dominance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 Daz Are you prepared to drive over to Wittering in the next couple of weeks? If so, I will take you out and hopefully get you hitting the birds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 I would recommend a load of skeet practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebarrels Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 I would recommend a load of skeet practice. That would cover most angles good suggestion,BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontbeck Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 A very good suggestion, skeet covers all the angles. I would agree with the other advice given above regarding having a lesson but the offer of taking you out shouldn't be missed. A friend of mine took up pigeon shooting and came to me with basically the same story as the OP. I took him to our local clay ground on the skeet to see if I could help, he thought the skeet targets were very close so I asked him where he was taking his shots at pigeon, he pointed to the bottom of a slope in the ground 70 meters away!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 A very good suggestion, skeet covers all the angles. I would agree with the other advice given above regarding having a lesson but the offer of taking you out shouldn't be missed. A friend of mine took up pigeon shooting and came to me with basically the same story as the OP. I took him to our local clay ground on the skeet to see if I could help, he thought the skeet targets were very close so I asked him where he was taking his shots at pigeon, he pointed to the bottom of a slope in the ground 70 meters away!!!!!! I think out of range shooting is perhaps the most common newbie mistake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stevo Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 I would recommend a load of skeet practice. I too also recommend this to anyone who asks , , covers nearly everything you will encounter while out decoying . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danger-Mouse Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 I`m also new to pigeon/crow shooting. Wednesday and Thursday I went out with a mate onto one of his perms. I don`t recall how many shots I had on Wed, but Thurs I had 16 shots for 1 pigeon and 1 crow. The pigeon was taken at fairly short range but the crow was a good 40-45 yards out. There were several close range shots that I missed. If those shots had been at clays I would have expected a much higher success rate. My analysis of why I missed so many comes down to several factors. I`m not that familiar with the gun I was using. The choke is much tighter and the cartridges a good deal heavier than I use on clays. And perhaps the biggest factor was that I was shooting from an unusual position, either sitting or kneeling. Thinking about it, I was stood up when I made the shot on the crow. The other factor of course, is that birds don`t follow nice trajectories like clays do. There is some good advice already given and a very fine offer to join someone on a days shooting that if I were the OP I would try to take up. As others have said it`s difficult, if not impossible, to answer the original question. As for me I`ll be out again tomorrow with another mate. I`ll be taking my first gun that I`m much more familiar with and hopefully my results will be a little better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolkngood Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 I was brought up on.................shoot where it's going and not where it's bloody well been! You don't often miss in front! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Harrison Posted April 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 Daz Are you prepared to drive over to Wittering in the next couple of weeks? If so, I will take you out and hopefully get you hitting the birds. its just down the A1 for me thanks for the offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Harrison Posted April 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 ive had two lessons, first one i hit everything, 2nd lesson was told i'd picked up bad habbits in a short time i do think i also need to get my eyes tested. many thanks, your all top blokes Daz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fredwalton Posted April 11, 2015 Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 I'm a bit like this miss easy shots that should be taken. I think my problem is I get excited when I see the birds coming so rush into shooting without really aiming properly. I'm also finding the more I'm using my gun the worse I'm getting, I think this is also as I really want a Berretta sliver pigeon so keep thinking if I continue to shoot badly I will be justified in spend the money on one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted April 11, 2015 Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 ive had two lessons, first one i hit everything, 2nd lesson was told i'd picked up bad habbits in a short time i do think i also need to get my eyes tested. many thanks, your all top blokes Daz Bare in mind that usually the first few lesson will normally mean you are given quite easy targets so dont automatically think that because you hit quite a few of them it will be the same when out on pigeon ,a instructor will be more interested in your mount and gunfit for starters also giving you some easy clays boosts confidence. Pigeon are not easy at the best of times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Harrison Posted April 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 Bare in mind that usually the first few lesson will normally mean you are given quite easy targets so dont automatically think that because you hit quite a few of them it will be the same when out on pigeon ,a instructor will be more interested in your mount and gunfit for starters also giving you some easy clays boosts confidence. Pigeon are not easy at the best of times some of the pigeon i missed made me think i was firing blanks im going to keep at it and keep bothering you lot cheers Daz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted April 11, 2015 Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 some of the pigeon i missed made me think i was firing blanks im going to keep at it and keep bothering you lot cheers Daz I had 12 for 12 shots today if thats any consolation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Harrison Posted April 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 I had 12 for 12 shots today if thats any consolation Yeah yeah yeah what ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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